From Fangoria.com: After watching hundreds (or thousands?) of horror movies over the course of decades, how many horror fans still get scared after watching a horror movie? I’m not talking about merely feeling tension because a character is in danger, but actually feeling frightened by a film.
All too often, it seems that people complain that a horror film was “bad” because it wasn’t “scary”. Without any context, this is essentially meaningless. For example, when was the last time a movie scared them, and what was it?
I feel that this “problem” has less to do with the quality of a film than it does with someone’s having built up a tolerance. Besides being a horror fan, I’m also a fan of very spicy food, and I have an assortment of hot sauces made from habanero and scotch bonnet peppers in my refrigerator at all times. My tolerance of spicy food is significantly higher than average, but my fiancee would argue that just because I don’t feel a dish is spicy, this doesn’t necessarily make it so.
Curiously, when horror films aren’t being accused of being bad because they’re not scary, it’s because they’re “not fun”. This seems to be a by-product of the ’80s, when so many horror films were glutting the market that the genre largely descended from “fright films” into horror-comedies – intentional or not.
I’m not talking about films that use comic relief to briefly release tension, I’m talking about films where you’re laughing at the film more than you’re laughing with the film – or are scared of the film.
With that, if a horror film isn’t “fun” is it a bad horror film? I don’t remember Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre being a particularly fun film, but does this make it a bad horror film?
I also find it puzzling when people suggest that I’m “immature” when I don’t find a film that emphasizes shadows, noises and even action from off-camera “scary”. It may simply be a by-product of getting older, but I stopped being afraid of the dark – and creaky houses – decades ago, though I hardly feel that this is a sign of my immaturity.
So have at it – are horror films supposed to be scary or fun? Both? Neither?
From Time.com: On the morning of June 2, 2003, Meyer woke up with the fading afterimage of a vision in her head, of a young woman and a vampire, talking, in a meadow. She didn’t want to forget it, so she wrote it down. Then she kept on writing. Sometimes you have the dream, and sometimes the dream has you.
Everybody knows where the story ends up. Meyer has sold 45 million books in the U.S. and 40 million more worldwide. Altogether her books have spent 235 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, 136 of them at No. 1. The movie version of Twilight, which came out a year ago, made $350 million. New Moon opens on Nov. 20; the third installment, Eclipse, arrives in theaters next June.
Make-up FX Maestro Todd A. Britt brings another ghostly creation to life during the wee hours of the night.
Last night, Mutantville Productions wrapped principle photography on G.H.O.S.T. after a long fifteen hour shoot. Kathy Sandvoss earned her final Scream Queen stripes and Super Diva status by battling her way through another challenging shoot. Thanks to our good friend, couture designer, Luis Machicao for lending his tremendous talents in supervising the filming of his costume designs for the finale of the movie. Lead actor Scott Thomas persevered another bloody and bruising shoot to bring our central ghost to life. Clint Jones showed his horror heart by enduring several make-up sessions. Dave Tunik gave his all in taking another bloody bite out of his role and a gelatin prop. Jason Wheely gave a heartwrenching performance as a haunted young TV producer. Jack Stecher pulled out all the stops to give a bravura performance as the crazy caretaker of the opera house.
Special thanks goes out to MVP’S own maestro of make-up FX – Todd A. Britt for bringing all of his Sith talents to bear in creating several macabre make-ups over the course of the fifteen hour marathon. Additional thanks goes to Sylvia and Sierra for lending their talents to the make-up department by resurrecting our supernatural visitors once more. Thanks again to Allan Whitley for toughing out another long night to lend a strong hand and keep our boomstick steady for another night. Special thanks goes out MVP’S own Costume Diva, seamstress and assistant to Mr. Machicao, Angela Pritchett who although unable to attend our final shoot due to schedule conflicts, put in many a long night on the set of G.H.O.S.T., lending her considerable costuming talents to help bring the production to life. Thanks to John R. Sexton for putting on a layered performance as Grandfather last month. Thank you to Kayli Tolleson and her mom Janna for lending their talent, energy and support to G.H.O.S.T. over the course of the shoot. And last but not least a very special thanks goes to my mom, Momma Streebo, for being a beacon of strength and inspiration to me over the years and for dusting off her sewing machine to create Johnny Reb’s jacket in whole – mere days before the first shoot. And to anyone that helped that I may have overlooked here, thank you for your help, we could not have done it without you all. Thank you.
This project has been an amazing journey and I thank you all for sharing it with me. Production may be complete – but post-production begins immediately as we will continue with editing, sound design and shooting final make-up FX shots of the movie. Be sure to keep tuning in to Mutantville.com and Mutant TV for your up to the minute news on G.H.O.S.T., C for Chaos, and MVP.
Mutantville Productions is proud to announce that today is one year and a day since we began planning what became G.H.O.S.T.. Tonight marks the final shoot of principle photography. We are very excited about how great the performances, FX and footage has looked so far. We couldn’t be happier. Better still is the fact that next week we all get to celebrate by being lazy and enjoying Thanksgiving with our families. See you all soon. Remember it wouldn’t be possible without you.
~~Streebo
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From AMC Horror Hacker: I’ve decided I can completely ignore everything my parents ever taught me. Why should I bother with their boring advice when Hollywood gives me all I need to know? Stupid horror teens imparted many lessons about life, as did those ever-so-reliable monster hunters with their timeless wisdom. But for the more esoteric subtleties, you really must sample the tidbits of insight offered by the ultimate icon of horror movies — the vampire.
Blood Is Thicker than Water
Every family has an idiot. If you can’t think of anyone in your family who’s an idiot, then guess what? That’s right: It’s you, because every family has an idiot. And yet that idiot is still family, so you have to go to bat for them, even if they get mixed up with the wrong people. And yeah, that includes the wrong undead people — just ask poor Seth Gecko in From Dusk Till Dawn. His brother Richard takes him into the mouth of Hell, and Seth goes to bat for him. You can’t always save your idiot relative, but dammit, you gotta try, because blood is thicker than water (and apparently much tastier).
Always Look Fabulous!
Why are all vamps dressed so dang well? Apparently there’s no excuse for not looking sharp, and that includes being dead. What’s up with that, Interview with a Vampire peeps? And what’s with the leather body suits, Underworlders? And do you even need to look beyond Bela Lugosi in the original Dracula to see the devastating effect of a sharp-dressed man? Sure, vampires may rip the throats out of their victims and bathe in blood, but I think it’s clear they’re always wearing clean underwear. Their vamp moms should be so proud!
After another long session of editing, our intrepid adventurers Streebo and Brento strapped on their thinking caps and did their best to come up with a few more poster and shirt designs for the promotion of G.H.O.S.T.. Our plan is to come up with as many as possible until we find the right combination that everyone is happy with. Of course as with most things – the first are usually the best – but we will keep trying until we find that magical combination. MVP has bigger battles to fight at the moment as we are marching towards our final date with destiny in front of the camera for G.H.O.S.T.. This Saturday marks the final day of principle photography on G.H.O.S.T.. Stay tuned to Mutantville.com for your up to the minute MVP news!
From Shock Til You Drop.com: British actor Edward Woodward has died at the age of 79.
He is best known to horror fans for his turn as the unfortunate Sergeant Howie in 1973’s The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy. In the film, he was tempted by the gorgeous Britt Ekland and shared the screen with Christopher Lee.
Later, he’d go on to star in the television series The Equalizer and Edgar (Shaun of the Dead) Wright’s Hot Fuzz.
His agent Janet Glass said the veteran of stage and screen had been ill for several months and passed away in hospital surrounded by members of his family.
Woodward is survived by his wife, the English actress Michele Dotrice, and four children.
LOS ANGELES – Roger Corman, memorably dubbed “the Orson Welles of the Z-Movie” and “the Pope of Pop Cinema,” never expected the words “Academy Award recipient” would accompany his name.
The man, whose 350 movie credits include such low-budget fare as “The Masque of the Red Death” and “X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes,” is receiving an honorary Oscar for a lifetime of achievement that includes mentoring such filmmakers as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron and Ron Howard.
Corman, 83, said he was aware the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was considering him for the honor. He felt certain he would not make the cut, though.
“I predicted that I would not win because I make low-budget films, and I felt the academy would not give an award to someone who made low-budget films. I was truly surprised when I got the call,” Corman said in an interview at the offices of his production and distribution outfit, New Horizons Pictures.
Read the rest at the link below:
Last night heralded yet another amazing day of filmmaking on the set of G.H.O.S.T.. We had an absolute blast shooting all of the elements that make horror fun – chases, ghosties, and other supernatural occurrences. Kathy Sandvoss put on a bravura performance as our gutsy heroine enduring take after take and bump after bump like a seasoned pro. Jack Stecher brought all of his years of experience to bear to imbue our creepy caretaker with a life of his own. Clint Jones continued to put on a solid showing as the beleaguered Seth. Dave Tunik and Jason Wheeley were able to survive a grueling make-up session to bring an amazing sequence of supernatural terror to vivid bloody life. Scott Thomas had his moment to take the center stage and bring the spirit of our ghost into four colored action! Thank you to Sylvia and Sierra for coming out and lending their talents as make up assistants again. Props to our ever reliable boom stick operator Allan Whitley for his sure hand and attentive ear throughout the shoot. Thanks to Jeremy for lending a hand shooting the behind the scenes segments. Everyone would like to extend a hearty handshake to Anne Reid for lending her talents as a massage therapist to keep everyone relaxed and loosened up for the duration of the shoot. Thanks to everyone for staying late and toughing it out. We are on the home stretch now – with the end in sight. Next Saturday will mark our final major shoot on the production of G.H.O.S.T. and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. This will be an amazing project and you will all be very proud of the final film. Thank you all – because without you – our movie wouldn’t be possible.
A loss of power on the set last week set production on G.H.O.S.T. back by one week. It will take more than that to keep a good G.H.O.S.T. down. The Mutantville Players are rested, ready and assembled to get back on set tomorrow and finish what we started. We can never thank you all enough for your hard work and dedication. This has been an amazing project from beginning to the near end. Thanks for coming on this amazing journey with us. Please take a minute to check out the preliminary designs for the t-shirts and promos for G.H.O.S.T. We have more on the way and you can only learn about it right here on Mutantville.com!
Welcome to Mutantville Productions MVP Blog. Join Streebo, Brento, Geo & the rest of the Mutantville Players as they set sail on the high seas of guerrilla filmmaking in their ongoing quest to bring you the finest in genre entertainment.
Mutantville Productions is proud to announce that today is one year and a day since we began planning what became G.H.O.S.T.. Tonight marks the final shoot of principle photography. We are very excited about how great the performances, FX and footage has looked so far. We couldn’t be happier. Better still is the fact that next week we all get to celebrate by being lazy and enjoying Thanksgiving with our families. See you all soon. Remember it wouldn’t be possible without you.
After another long session of editing, our intrepid adventurers Streebo and Brento strapped on their thinking caps and did their best to come up with a few more poster and shirt designs for the promotion of G.H.O.S.T.. Our plan is to come up with as many as possible until we find the right combination that everyone is happy with. Of course as with most things – the first are usually the best – but we will keep trying until we find that magical combination. MVP has bigger battles to fight at the moment as we are marching towards our final date with destiny in front of the camera for G.H.O.S.T.. This Saturday marks the final day of principle photography on G.H.O.S.T.. Stay tuned to Mutantville.com for your up to the minute MVP news!
Last night heralded yet another amazing day of filmmaking on the set of G.H.O.S.T.. We had an absolute blast shooting all of the elements that make horror fun – chases, ghosties, and other supernatural occurrences. Kathy Sandvoss put on a bravura performance as our gutsy heroine enduring take after take and bump after bump like a seasoned pro. Jack Stecher brought all of his years of experience to bear to imbue our creepy caretaker with a life of his own. Clint Jones continued to put on a solid showing as the beleaguered Seth. Dave Tunik and Jason Wheeley were able to survive a grueling make-up session to bring an amazing sequence of supernatural terror to vivid bloody life. Scott Thomas had his moment to take the center stage and bring the spirit of our ghost into four colored action! Thank you to Sylvia and Sierra for coming out and lending their talents as make up assistants again. Props to our ever reliable boom stick operator Allan Whitley for his sure hand and attentive ear throughout the shoot. Thanks to Jeremy for lending a hand shooting the behind the scenes segments. Everyone would like to extend a hearty handshake to Anne Reid for lending her talents as a massage therapist to keep everyone relaxed and loosened up for the duration of the shoot. Thanks to everyone for staying late and toughing it out. We are on the home stretch now – with the end in sight. Next Saturday will mark our final major shoot on the production of G.H.O.S.T. and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. This will be an amazing project and you will all be very proud of the final film. Thank you all – because without you – our movie wouldn’t be possible.
A loss of power on the set last week set production on G.H.O.S.T. back by one week. It will take more than that to keep a good G.H.O.S.T. down. The Mutantville Players are rested, ready and assembled to get back on set tomorrow and finish what we started. We can never thank you all enough for your hard work and dedication. This has been an amazing project from beginning to the near end. Thanks for coming on this amazing journey with us. Please take a minute to check out the preliminary designs for the t-shirts and promos for G.H.O.S.T. We have more on the way and you can only learn about it right here on